the toyota MR2

The roller coaster ride has started and we have now reached escape velocity!

In late 1983 Toyota Introduced a hot new car that proved that all great things don't necessarily have to come in enormous packages, or with an enormous price tag. Case and point the Toyota MR2. Now if you were alive and remember back during that time, Toyota was building quite a bunch of less than stellar looking cars, (save the Celica and Supra), that were mundane looking at best, and without a lot of risks taken in it's design department. The design style would later come to be known as Oragami, and even though the company was very careful not to offend anybody with it's designs, a Toyota would go down the road for years and years with solid reliability and nobody except a die hard Japanese car loyalist knew what kind of car it would be. Not much style at all, but you can believe that outside of a flat tire, you were going to get to your destination.. Nobody did reliability better, Period. .....Oh what a feeling..!

In a surprise move on the public, Toyota let out of it's bag the secret weapon that was to cool off the heels of everybody that was building these hot two seaters at the time. From the time it was put in the automobile market, Toyota's MR2 was a slam sensation. With a hot new aerodynamic design, one of the most comfortable interiors for any car of that class, great seats, a pop up sun-roof, pop up headlights, a four speed automatic or a five speed pistol grip shifter, disc brakes, rear drive and a transversely mounted 4 cylinder engine,(4 cylinder engine designed to lay across the engine bay sideways), taah-daahh! The Toyota Pip Squeak was also mid engined, (the engine is in the rear, behind the passenger compartment), and very light, making it very fast and very agile. Its agility actually made the world take note, as one of the first cars to come out of Japan that proved that the Toyota company could build a great car with a sporty suspension. Make no mistake about it, this little monster was out to do some damage.

And damage it did, immediately cutting into the profits of Honda, Fiat and Pontiac. The car was not just a small car with personality, it was light, quick, quiet, and handled like it was on a roller coaster, and all that without guzzling down an Iron drums worth of fuel. It was also extremely reliable, as you probable know because you still see quite a few of them on the roads today.As the two seat pocket rocket fight got hotter, Toyota laid another blow by later adding something that the others didn't have, T-Tops and a Supercharger. "Heavens to B This raised the MR2 into a spot of it's own and not much else could touch it for it's price.

As aforementioned, the car is mid engined and that means the trunk is in the front. Though not a large trunk by any ones standard, it was big enough for a spare tire and a weekends worth of clothing for a run up the coast or a fishing trip, depending on how you pack. A full sized tire was a plus back in those days. There is also another small bay after the rear engine compartment for some more stuff if you want. Actually, for a car of this size, the designers put an extreme amount of thought into the owners possible needs and wants for travel.

The original price of the MR2 was around $11,000 in 1984, but even at that price, the little Toyota put many more cars that were thousands of dollars more expensive out to pasture. Even the mighty Italian Car Companies that cost six times as much could not mess with this cars handling, packaging, prowess and great gas mileage, and the reliability part, forget it.!! What Toyota did create is a hot little pocket rocket that made it great to grab an overnight bag, remove the T-Tops, grab a pop sickle and hit the road. There was truly no better way to spend a weekend.

There are still a great many of these cars on the road today, as mentioned earlier, and a great price for one in good shape should be around $5,000 or less. We also can't give you any common reliability problems with this car as most of the complaints happened after 150,000 miles. However if you are looking to buy one just check the sunroof seal, door and window seals and the T-Top seals, as they are now over 20 years old and prone to leakage. Also have the fuel system, including injectors, cleaned and serviced and beware of engine modifications.. In the meantime we will be in the sunshine and keeping a lookout for bad weather, as I hear that a storm is brewing....

Will lightning strike again...?

Well, for now we don't know but Toyota is currently working at a feverish pace in order to regain their lost loyal customer base.. Rumors are circling again about a possible fourth coming of the MR2 and if it's anything like the old models, they got a check coming from me..! Do the damn thing MR2.Now the books have been read and the library is closed.!! Hope you have enjoyed this months chapter ofblast from the Past at autoFrenzy.net,and until next time, this is you know who, reminding you to keep your hands on the you know what, and your feet you know where... Thanks for reading.. Deuces..!!

I learned how to manual transmission on a 1988 "Mr. 2" The joystick type shifter and the short throws made this a fun car to drive. There were other mid engine competitors such as the Pontiac Fiero but none as fun as the MR2.

"Man what U sayin!!" I too went out to test drive the Pontiac Fiero, the Triump TR 7, the Fiat X-1/9 and the Toyota MR 2. It did seem like all of the others were hitting on one thing and missing something else; too small, harsh ride, bad handling, not enough open air, terrible shifter, no overnight bag space, but the MR2 had, (ahem), has (as it has outlasted all of the aforementioned) it all and that pistol grip shifter was something new to me. I felt like I was flying a plane. It felt great, shifted superbly and gave the little Toyota an advantage over the other cars. "Oh what a Feeling!" thanks for your comments JFree, be safe.

Reply

Rodolfo

6/13/2012 06:43:09 am

Well, I don't mean to upstage anyone but I owned the 1986, 1987, and 1988 versions of the car. What else would a young and dumb male do with his money? lol. Anyhow, I learned to drive a stick shift with that '86 MR2 and it was def the joy of my life at the time. I can only recall how I decided on buying the car. Basically, the Pontiac dealer acted as if the Fiero was the best and ignored me, whereas, the Toyota sales guy treated me like a king. Though the Fiero was 'prettier' it was no match for the MR2...year after year, model after model.

I owned the '87 T-top and tricked that sucker up with a two-tone paint and MoMo 5-star wheels. Was a bit ahead of my time with car designs but that car looked hot.

Got the '88 Supercharger. There was an issue with that supercharger that the dealer could never figure out. I even had to tell them that it used a special supercharger oil. Go figure. But back to the car, I made that car a convertible, put on MoMo wheels, and painted it a Ford Metallic Green. You had to see it to believe it. Car was the bomb until they stole it! lol.

I know man. It's always your favorite that some clown just needs to have. Both my 98 Honda Accord, and 85 Buick Regal GN were torn from my grips. Lets go back and retrace our steps, find the fool that did it and beat the hell out of em! Great car, and will always be. Thanks for your comments Rodolfo. Deuces!!